Managing risk in strategic sourcing: a cross-sectional and multi-national case study

While risk management in supply chains is continuing to receive significant attention in the extant literature, research on risk aspects relating to strategic sourcing across various industry sectors from a multinational perspective is scant. Based on 20 case companies in the construction and electronics sectors in Germany and the United Kingdom, this paper undertakes a comparative evaluation of strategic sourcing risk management practices. We find that risk management has not been adopted fully across industries and countries from a strategic sourcing perspective and that differences exist with respect to risk factors considered, methods adopted to analyze risk, and impact on business performance. Our research presents several significant and useful insights for managing risks in strategic sourcing.